VISUAL ARTS
Clothing provides new medium for exchange
Social lubricant: Artist draws strangers together by creating unorthodox concepts
By Catherine Fox
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 07/13/2008
Even some of the regulars who browse the art galleries and hip clothing shops each month during the Castleberry Hill Art Stroll were confused by the recent goings-on at 261 Walker St.
Although the sign said Gallery Stokes, the main room contained a rack of clothing. Then again, there was a woman dressed in white reciting nonsense syllables behind a white scrim — performance art, right? And yet, people were trying on the clothes, and leaving with their finds.
So, was it a chic consignment shop or an art gallery? Well, both. Sort of.
Stuart Keeler, who staged the two-day event on the last weekend of June, invited visitors to bring clothing they no longer wanted and exchange it for something someone else had brought. But the clothing exchange was really an enticement to bring people into the gallery. What he hoped to create was a social exchange.
As the gallery took on the intimacy of a Loehmaan's fitting room, perfect strangers gabbed and compared notes — about clothes and art — and some 160 people, including some gallery newbies, graffitied the wall with stories about their clothing.
"Stuart is a 'connector,' " says artist Joe Peragine. Invoking a term from the best-seller "The Tipping Point," he explains, "It refers to people who have a gift to bring people together, create synergy… Our art community needs more people like that."
Like a number of artists in our midst, the Vancouver-born Keeler moved here from elsewhere — Chicago, specifically — a year ago, because of his partner's job. The flexibility afforded by cellphones, laptops and a big airport enables artists to stay connected to the larger art world. Keeler can work on his own public art projects — large-scale works fabricated by others — organize events and conduct research anywhere he lays his laptop.
As he says, "My studio is where I am."
That might be the dining room table of his place in Castleberry Hill, a former carriage house sparely furnished with modernist furniture, or the coffee shop down the street, which doubles as his "office," or, starting in August, a studio at the Contemporary.
Making things happen
Many artists in similar situations operate under Atlanta's radar. They live here but do not get involved. Keeler, 42, has taken the opposite tack.
"I decided to make things happen in Atlanta," he says.
Before he'd actually moved here, he proposed a major temporary public art project to the city's Bureau of Cultural Affairs. "A (new) Genre Landscape," an exhibit he curated in 12 city parks, promotes a spirit similar to that of his clothing swap endeavor.
For instance, the Bottle Project in Sunken Garden Park encompasses two sculptures made out of plastic water bottles (one of which doubled as a bottle receptacle) and an evening program in which members of the public met with artists Peragine, Craig Dongoski and Pam Longobardi to talk about environmental issues.
Whether you consider these projects public art, public service or, as some visitors to Gallery Stokes opined, not art at all, they do generate interactions that would otherwise be unlikely — and that's what Keeler says he's after.
Since his arrival in Atlanta, he also has co-founded Idea Capital, a philanthropy start-up, and he is joining Cathy Byrd, Georgia State University Gallery director, to produce "Le Flash," a multi-media event in Castleberry Hill.
"I love his energy and his ability to tap so many local resources," Byrd says.
Pushing for change
Keeler has the chutzpah to match his energy. In 2005, he appointed himself artist-in-residence of his Chicago neighborhood and cajoled local bureaucrats to let him use public spaces for exhibits and social interactions. He's not afraid to challenge artists, says Byrd, "which I think we need." And he doesn't hide his frustrations with the lack of adventurousness or ingenuity he finds here.
"Atlanta is stuck in the '80s model of public art," he says. "The world doesn't need another 'happy hands' mural [created by children's handprints]. Why not do a sound wall? Why not teach kids how to make a digital sound file so that they can make the mural?"
He sees dormant opportunities everywhere, like the empty storefront belonging to the Woodruff Art Center on Lombardy Way, which he envisions as the High Museum's new project space for Atlanta artists. But he's not waiting for others to take action.
"I'm going to use my studio at the Contemporary as a gallery," he says, "and a place for forums and discussions."
THE KEELER COLLECTION
Among Stuart Keeler's ongoing art projects:
"Virtual Exchange." A solar-powered LED display of international monetary data and a digital time-zone clock to debut at University of Wisconsin, Madison's business school in August. The work scrolls money market information from NYSE, NASDAQ and up to 23 global money markets in three languages. Viewers will be able to view how the sun and stored solar power activate and power the artwork.
"A (new) Genre Landscape." Temporary artworks by Atlanta artists installed in 12 city parks. Many are performances, not objects, so check calendar for events and times. You can access a map on www.pba.org/newgenre.
"Le Flash." An evening of performance art, poetry readings, installations, music and the like taking place throughout Castleberry Hill. Scheduled for Oct. 24, from 7 p.m. to midnight. Proposals welcome. Send to: LeFlash.Oct24@gmail.com
Idea Capital. Inspired by San Francisco artist/waiter Josh Greene (who gives grants to artists through a personal foundation funded by his tips), Keeler brought together four other curators, who pooled $100 each, issued a call for proposals and awarded an artist grant to Allison Rentz last month. The group plans to continue and expand its operations. Contact: atlartgrant@gmail.com.
